Is BlackBerry Now Obsolete?

It’s been about 10 years since the BlackBerry took the corporate world by storm. The BlackBerry pretty much pioneered the smartphone movement with its numerous features and revolutionary trackball interface. Fast forward to 2010 and we’re now in a world of touch screens, where the Motorola Droid and iPhone are selling at a record pace.

BlackBerry is suddenly just plain unattractive when compared to their Android and iPhone counterparts. The touch screen on the BlackBerry Storm is clunky and awful to use, while the OS looks almost like it did 10 years ago with thousands of settings that are difficult to find and a look that rivals a Radio Shack TRS80.

RIM is trying to fight back with the new OS6 to be released later this year. While this may correct a few issues, there is a world of work to be done as far as the hardware. RIM will need redesign their current touch screen hardware on the Storm, and make their devices easier to navigate. The trackball and push button screen is just not a quick way to navigate a phone anymore.

The only way RIM is currently surviving is with the adoption of corporate users. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server software does make the device more attractive to users who have to be thetered to an Exchange server. But Android and iPhone are making tremendous strides in that area as well.

Honestly, I think we’re witnessing the end of RIM and the BlackBerry within 3 years. The company basically made the same devices without much innovation and got away with it for years. They are now about to pay the price.

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